Barney and the Backyard Gang
Barney & the Backyard Gang is a home video series produced from 1988 to 1992 that launched the stardom of the worldwide popular television show Barney & Friends. The series focused on a purple tyrannosaurus rex named Barney, and a group of kids known as The Backyard Gang, and the adventures they take, through their imaginations. The series, for the most part, was for entertainment, having little to no education incorporated. Some tapes, such as Campfire Sing-Along and Barney Goes to School, are really the only ones of the series to teach educational lessons. All the other tapes only focus on the caring and imagination aspect of Barney. It wasn't until Barney and Friends, when the songs incorporated lessons and morals. The series made more than $3.5 million. The first three tapes alone sold 50,000 copies. Despite being a huge success in Dallas, the series was only a moderate success throughout the rest of America. The first six videos of this series where Frank Olsen writtens. Frank Olsen left the show after the first six videos of this series. In 1991, the director Jim Rowley took over in the last two videos of this series. Videos Cast Dinosaurs *Barney 8/8 **Voice: Bob West **Performer: David Voss and David Joyner *Baby Bop 2/8 **Voice: Julie Johnson **Performer: Dao Knight Children *Amy (Becky Swonke) *Michael (Brian Eppes) *Luci (Leah Gloria) *Tina (Jessica Zucha) *Adam (Alexander Jhin) *Derek (Rickey Carter) *Jason (Salim Grant) *Jeffrey (Jeffrey Lowe) Adults *Michael and Amy's Mom (Sandy Duncan) 3/8 *Michael and Amy's Dad (Bob Reed) 3/8 Guest Appearances *Jeanne Cairns (played Mrs. Claus in Waiting for Santa) *Henry Hammack (played Santa Claus in Waiting for Santa) *Sonya Resendez (played Tina's Mom in Campfire Sing-Along) *Philip Parker (performed as the Bear in Campfire Sing-Along) *Lauren King (played Kathy in Rock with Barney) *Alexis Harris (played Jennifer in Rock with Barney) *Ajay Reddy (played AJ in Rock with Barney) *Chris Rodriguez (played Joseph in Rock with Barney) *Lourdes Regala (played Adam's Mom in Rock with Barney) Trivia *Music for the Backyard Gang videos was done by Stephen Bates (Baltes) and Philip A. Parker (as with the television series that aired later), while Lory Lazarus wrote the first original song created for Barney, Friends Are Forever. *In the first five videos, "I Love You" was sung at the beginning. However, it was sung at the end of Barney Goes to School and Barney in Concert and is frequently sung at the end of Barney & Friends. *In November 1990, The Disney Channel aired episodes from the Backyard Gang series as part of its "Lunch Box" program. *Related merchandise to the Backyard Gang videos include read-along books (of the first three videos) and tape sets (of the entire series), and later in the series, the first Barney dolls (two of them actually used in the videos). *The earlier videos from 1988 and 1989 featured actress Sandy Duncan as Michael and Amy's mother. *Because the majority of the gang (except for Michael and Amy) meet Barney for the first time in ''A Day at the Beach'', it takes place before The Backyard Show. *The first three videos of this series featured Barney with a slightly deeper voice, perhaps larger eyes, a visible red tongue (until 1990), and a much darker color of purple (which turned more magenta as the series went on). *The first six videos of this series features skinner Barney costume, and The last two videos of this series features the chubbier Barney costume. *All eight videos were re-released in 1992, and the last five titles were re-released in 1996. Two of them, Waiting for Santa and Barney in Concert, were also re-released by Lyrick Studios, in 1997 and 2000. Gallery byg2.png|Title Card (1988-1989) Backyard gang title.png|Title Card (1990-1992) bygloo.png|Barney & the Backyard Gang print logo brikabraka.png|Barney "ribbon" logo seen on VHS tapes, audio tapes, and books 31039 126720724026819 100000666777002 187467 440139 n.jpg|Meet the Backyard Gang barneygang.jpg|Cast tinabackyard.png|Tina and the Barney doll in her backyard school.png|The Backyard Gang from "Barney Goes to School" 170189.jpg|Barney, Baby Bop, and The Backyard Gang from "Barney in Concert" rarebabybop.png|Barney, Baby Bop, and The Backyard Gang from "Rock with Barney" barneyandb.png|Barney and Baby Bop from "Rock with Barney" STAMP.png|Barney & the Backyard Gang stamp pad dakincute.png|Dakin Barney plushie (1990, A) Btiq5YBWkKGrHqQH-D4Evqy1919eBL8ZnL5dyw 3.jpg|Dakin Barney plushie (1990, B) gund.jpg|Gund Barney plushie (1991, A) 33885_285344961587014_1027518617_n.jpg|Gund Barney plushie (1991, B) script.png|"The Backyard Show" script santaclaus.jpg|"Waiting for Santa" Behind the Scenes santatoappear.jpg|More "Waiting for Santa" Behind the Scenes Santas Workshop22W.jpg|Full Scale version of Santa's Workshop from "Waiting for Santa" TinazRmW.jpg|Tina's Room from "Campfire Sing-Along" HappyfrsWt.jpg|The Happy Forest from "Campfire Sing-Along" spook.jpg|The Spooky Forest from "Campfire Sing-Along" BearCvW.jpg|The Bear Cave from "Campfire Sing-Along" IntSch1W.jpg|The School from "Barney Goes to School" IBSpiderW.jpg|The Spider from "Barney in Concert" Barney photo from early Barney videos.png|Barney photo from 1989-1992 Barney videos 11079601_545981718875443_3281582490536033180_n.jpg|Amy dressed as a bumblebee in The Backyard Show Amy_BSwonke_Barney_In_Concert.jpg|Becky Swonke as Amy introducing herself in a rap song during Barney In Concert in 1991 Luci performing Where Is Thumbkin? from "Barney In Concert".jpg|Luci performing Where Is Thumbkin? from "Barney In Concert" See also * Barney & Friends - The TV series that came after this video series 1992–present. Category:Barney & Friends Category:PBS Kids Sprout